Don’t allow Buhari address 73rd UNGA, former APC publicity secretary petitions UN Scribe

The 73rd UNGA will begin September 18 at the UN Headquarters, New York, while the General Debate will hold from September 25 to October 1.

Onyeama said the President would use the opportunity to assert Nigeria’s position on global issues.

“It an opportunity for him to assert Nigeria’s position globally and to put forward our ideas and our vision going forward as a global community.

“The President will address the 73rd Session of the High-Level General Debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 25.

“He will deliver Nigeria’s National Statement on the first day of the general debate of the General Assembly high-level events,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that President Buhari had been placed as number 20 on the list of the speakers out of the 193 world leaders that would address the Assembly.

He would deliver the address to the Assembly on the first day between 8pm and 9pm (between 1am and 2am Nigerian time).

Onyeama said the theme for this year’s UNGA is:“Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable development “.

According to him, Buhari would be leading Nigeria’s delegation, made up of ministers and heads of agencies and permanent secretaries to the event.

“Of course, this is the global meeting of heads of state in the world.

“It is extremely important and it is a rare opportunity for Nigeria as a country to engage with the other countries of the world,” he said.

But in an open letter to the UN boss which was made available to TheNiche, Mr. Frank who accused President Buhari of having the “worst record in  human rights abuses,” said the president has nothing to offer the international community other than “concocted essay on non-existence and developmental day dreams that will never manifest in reality due to lack of political will, insincerity, sheer naivety and stunted capacity.”

He accused the president of foisting a “dictatorial and authoritarian rule on the people who looked up to him as a messiah and elected him president to ameliorate their sufferings,” and urged the UN scribe to do his best “to save Nigeria this impending embarrassment.”

Below is the letter:

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL

The Secretary-General of the United Nations

H.E. António Guterres

Thru: UN’s Abuja Office

Diplomatic Drive

Central Business District

Area 1, Garki Abuja.

Dear Sir,

STOP BUHARI FROM ADDRESSING THE 73RD UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Permit me to once again call upon you to do Nigeria and Africa a favour by not  allowing President Muhammadu Buhari to address the forthcoming 73rd session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (UNGA), in New York. Come to think of it, what will Buhari share with such assemblage of eminent personalities and citizens of world if not concocted essay on non-existence and developmental day dreams that will never manifest in reality due to lack of political will, insincerity, sheer naivety and stunted capacity.

As the head of a military junta in 1983 he has the worst record in  human rights abuses and now as as President under a democratic setting, regrettably, he still maintains that ignoble record today. This is a president that has utter disdain for the parliament and whose undisguised contempt for the judiciary remains unparalleled in the history of democratic governance in the country. Despite the current democratic dispensation in the country, Buhari has foisted dictatorial and authoritarian rule on the people who looked up to him as a messiah and elected him president to ameliorate their sufferings.

Rather than wipe away the tears of Nigerians, he has worsened the plight through archaic economic policies.

FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Fundamental human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of the press mean nothing to Buhari. He does not hide his disdain for the rule of law. He continues to advocate the elevation of national interest above the rule of law. Jones Abiri – a Port Harcourt based journalist was recently released following global outcry after being detained without trial for over two years. Besides, he has vehemently refused to release Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and Col. Sambo Dasuki in complete disregard for valid judicial pronouncements admitting them to bail. Another grievous anti-people policy of the Buhari administration was his haste to declare the Indigenous People of Biafra as a terrorist organization while refusing to declare the murderous and nightly dangerous Fulani herdsmen as a terrorist organization.

DEMOCRACY

In general terms, Buhari disdains democracy and continues to weaken the nation’s institutions rather than strengthen them. His refusal to sign the amended Electoral Act not only show his lack of commitment to electoral reforms but his phobia for the use of simple technological devices like the Card Reader meant to guarantee the credibility which is at variance with a grand plot to rig the 2019 general elections in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He actively encourages vote buying to sustain the APC hold on power.

So what is Buhari going to tell the distinguished personalities expected at general Assembly? During his electioneering campaign in 2014, Buhari gave Nigeria three major promises which he later adopted his cardinal agenda after his election as President. The three agenda of the Buhari’s administration are namely: Economy, Restoration of Security and Fight against Corruption. How far has he fared?

ECONOMY

Buhari has largely mismanaged the nation’s economy. In 2014 Nigeria emerged the biggest economy in Africa with a GDP that peaked at $568billion but under the Buhari regime, the GDP declined to $376billion in 2017 alone, and much less now. His outdated economic policies have caused the nation’s burgeoning economy to contract irretrievably, leading to shut down of many once thriving businesses with attendant job loses. According to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over nine (9) million jobs have been lost away under his regime thereby turning millions breadwinners into beggars for bread. Above all Nigeria is now ignominiously rated as the poverty headquarters of the world with over 81 million Nigerians are living in extreme and debilitating poverty. His penchant for amassing local and foreign loans is driving Nigeria deeper into unsustainable debt levels without any viable repayment plan. This absurd level of debt will not only stagnate the country’s development but will definitely task the ingenuity of future generations to repay. Buhari is mortgaging Nigeria’s future progress by piling up debts. It is now public knowledge that Nigeria’s external debt has more that doubled under Buhari, rising  from $10billion in 2015, to $22billion as at June. This represents a whooping 114.05 per cent, according to statistics from Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO). Added to this is a local debt of N12.15trillion amassed by this administration.

Dr. Amina Mohammed – deputy Secretary-General of the UN – on Wednesday decried the high level of debt Nigeria has brought upon herself. Mohammed who was a minister of environment under Buhari  before she was appointment as the deputy Secretary General of the UN, had this to say: “As I was coming up from New York, some of the concerns that came up from the meeting we had in China just recently and reports that we have, the debt issues are really big. I mean, having experienced what it was for Ngozi (Okonjo-Iweala) to get debt relief. It took her a few years to convince people, and we are now back again in my country, with a level of debt that is worrying. It’s happening all over. Africa, is that the way we want to go?” Above all, Buhari has since usurped the Constitutional powers of the National Assembly to appropriate funds by engaging in extra budgetary spending without recourse to the parliament. The unilateral withdrawal of $1billion from the Excess Crude Account purportedly for security purposes and the payment of $496million for 12 Fighter Jets, without recourse to the National Assembly are a few examples.

ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT

Even though it is a well known fact that Buhari has surrounded himself with highly corrupt individuals, he often single out members of the opposition for prosecution. He has turned his anti corruption fight into an instrument of personal vendetta against his political enemies and opposition figures. Twice has the agents of state invaded the National Assembly in a bid to forcefully remove the presiding officers of one of the Chambers. His failure to put any culprit to trial show his his complicity in the various episodes. Permit me to say that the African Union (AU) recently made a blunder by naming Buhari as the AU Anti-Corruption Champion during its 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government Summit, held in Addis Ababa in February. He has continued to engage in large scale persecution of opposition political party leaders in the country to the exclusion of alleged corrupt persons working directly with the President or in the APC.

SECURITY

Insecurity still pervades the land despite high level of propaganda celebrating the “technical” defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists by security forces. Despite chest thumping boasts  by the Buhari Administration, to have degraded the Boko Haram terrorists in the North East, the region is still in dire security straits while other forms of criminality like criminality pervades other parts of the country. It is noteworthy to say that Fulani herdsmen have continued to maim, kill and destroy the source of livelihood of innocents and unarmed citizens in some  parts of the North Central, North East and North West States.

In view of the above facts therefore, tell me what Buhari has to share with an assembly of respectable world leaders who will be converging at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly to share success stories in economic rejuvenation and big ideas for the future for him to have been listed as the 20th speaker to address the August gathering during the opening session? Please do your best to save Nigeria this impending embarrassment.

Yours  sincerely,

Comrade Timi  Frank

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary

All Progressives Congress

timifrank40@gmail.com

07033555555